FORESTRY— THE RELATION OF WOOD TO 

 THE DEVELOPMENT OF CIVILIZATION 



BY WILLIAM CARSON 



Tirr E HEAR much and read much of the Coal Age, 

 '' the Iron Age, the Age of Steel — and their influ- 

 ence on civilization. In our own time we have been im- 

 pressed with the amazing changes brought about by 

 iron and steel. We traverse continents on rails of steel; 

 span broad rivers with bridges of iron and steel ; ply 

 the seven seas in ships of steel, and soar through the air 

 in machines with steel frames. With steel tools and 

 machines the luxuries of yesterday are brought in reach 



tributed to all the ages. And though its functions have 

 been in the quieter walks of life, less glorious and spec- 

 tacular than iron and steel, its contribution to man in 

 his struggle onward and upward has been no less bounti- 

 ful. 



Even before the dawn of history, man was dependent 

 on it for his existence ; and on every frontier down to 

 our own day it has been one of man's chief reliances. 

 It has been more than an influence ; it has been essen- 



Courtcsy of The White Pine Bureau 



THE "OLD FAIRBANKS HOUSE" AT DEDHAM, MASSACHUSETTS 



The oldest house in America now standing in practically its original condition, again with the possible exception of the 

 shell and adobe houses of Florida and California, is the "Old Fairbanks House," at Dedham, Massachusetts, the central sec- 

 tion of which was built in 1636. The picturesqueness of this old, weather-beaten house, nestling beneath a wealth of over- 

 hanging elms and breathing the sweetness and charm of old New England, has an appeal unequalled by any other of the 

 early Colonial houses. Although its unpainted white pine siding has stood exposed to the severe^ New England climate for 

 almost three centuries, it is still almost perfectly preserved — a testimonial to the lasting qualities of 'wood. 



of all, adding immensely to the comforts and enjoyment 

 of life; and with other steel tools we fashion guns that 

 hurl masses of steel twenty miles through the air and 

 kill myriads of men. Truly the influence of iron and 

 steel has been stupendous — stupendous beyond our con- 

 ception. 



Yet, though iron and steel are mere tyros as com- 

 pared to wood, no period has been designated the Wood 

 Age. No particular period could be. Wood has con- 



tial — indispensable. Man first took refuge in the tree 

 and with its branches built his fire to cook his simple 

 ineal. With his wooden club he went forth to provide 

 food for himself and his family. He lightened his first 

 journeys with a staff of wood, and as he became more 

 venturesome floated down the water-courses on a log. 

 When love of home conquered his roving disposition 

 he scratched the ground with a stick and sowed his seeds, 

 and in time made his first plow of wood. As the cen- 



1297 



